Mother's plea to find killer of daughter

The body of 14-year-old Caroline Glachan was found in 1996, but despite an exhaustive police investigation the murderer is still at large.

Yesterday, her mother Margaret Glachan pleaded for anyone who knows anything to come forward so she can finally put the matter behind her.

Mrs Glachan said: "I have never been able to complete the grieving process because I don’t know who did this. I could be serving them in the shop where I work. That thought tortures me.

"I feel guilty when I visit the cemetery and still can’t tell Caroline that they have not caught her killer."

Caroline was found by a passer-by, partly submerged on the banks of the River Leven in Renton, Dunbartonshire, less than a mile from her home.

It was Mrs Glachan’s 40th birthday that day, the 25th of August, but she spent the night identifying her only child’s body in a morgue.

Mrs Glachan said: "They say life begins at 40, but mine didn’t, mine ended. The person who killed Caroline will never understand what they have taken.

"They didn’t just take her life, they took mine. I will never see my daughter married or have grandchildren. I am quite sure they are still walking around here. They are having their birthdays and Christmases, enjoying their life."

Caroline, a fourth-year pupil at Our Lady and St Patrick’s High School, was born in 1982 after her mother had already suffered four miscarriages and given birth to a stillborn son.

On the evening of Saturday, 24 August, 1996, she left the family home in Bonhill, Dunbartonshire, to visit friends in nearby Renton.

She was last seen alive at just before midnight at the Ladyton shopping centre at Bonhill. The following afternoon, her body was discovered floating in the Leven.

Following the discovery, Strathclyde Police launched one of their biggest ever manhunts, initially interviewing more than 500 people.

Detailed witness reports of a stranger seen following Caroline as she walked along the river towpath shortly before she was killed fuelled speculation that police were close to catching the killer.

But, almost seven years on, the investigation is still no further forward.

Mrs Glachan said "Caroline was the most precious thing on earth and I don’t think what ever happened will ever sink in.

"But I have to keep the hope that the police will catch the killer - it is the only thing that makes me get out of bed in the morning.

"If anyone knows anything, no matter how trivial I would just ask them to please contact the police."